Mustang Stroker Engine Buyer's Guide

Deciding What Stroker Engine To Buy For Your Muscle Mustang Or Fast Ford Is No Day On The Golf Course. We Can Help.

Pete EppleTechnical Editor

May 1, 2009

For golfers hitting the links, the goal is to come in as far under "par" as possible and hence have the lowest score with the shortest amount of strokes. For Ford enthusiasts looking for more power and a lower e.t., shortening your stroke is not the answer. In fact, it's quite the opposite when it comes to building a high-performance engine, as one key to big power is adding stroke. The question is what "club," err... crankshaft, rotating assembly, and block to use.

In today's world of high-horsepower engines, bigger is definitely better. Whether you're looking to add a little extra grunt to a street car, tear up a road course on open track days, or blast down the quarter-mile, a stroker engine is a cost-effective and reliable way to add copious amounts of power. The massive growth of the stroker-engine market over the last few years has put power levels previously found only in race engines in the hands (and budgets) of the backyard mechanic and/or common enthusiast.

And when it comes to engine types and stroker kits (and pre-assembled engines), we, as Ford and Mustang owners, are spoiled with the sheer plethora of options. While discussing choices, there is a lot to consider. Displacement, materials, budget, stock, or aftermarket block, and induction type, are all issues that need to be addressed. On top of this discussion you also have to decide what brand you want to go with. As you know, there are super affordable kits, as well as very expensive ones. Often you get what you pay for, so know that you might not reliably make 800 horses with the bottom-of-the-barrel crank, rods, and pistons, especially in a stock 5.0L block.

Thankfully, MM&FF is here to help guide you through the stroker situation. We are going to take a few pages and do some of the heavy lifting for you, to inform you of what is out there, and what may be best for your budget. As with any project you may undertake, knowledge is key. So make sure to do your homework and talk to the guys at your local installation and machine shop to figure out what the best combination will be for how you use your car and the power level you're looking to achieve.

Horsepower and reliability are the two key concepts behindevery engine Bennett Racing builds. Its experience and extensive amount of research and development go into every part it machines and assembles to ensure the final result is a powerful and reliable engine that will last.

Bennett Racing offers a wide array of stroker configurations and sizes. Whether your combination is naturally-aspirated or forced-inducted, Bennett will build an engine to fit your needs. Its 302-based engines can range from 302 to 363ci, and use either an FRPP Boss or a Dart block. If you are looking for something on the larger size, Bennett also offers a line of 351-based engines ranging from 351 to 468ci that will handle just about any amount of horsepower.

Racing a 2,000-plus horsepower Outlaw car with bottomless pockets is a dream for most of us. For the rest of us who work all week to make enough money to race on the weekends, what we build needs to be affordable, durable, and powerful. Blow By Racing (BBR) specializes in high-performance street-legal engines that offer a great blend of power, durability, and efficiency at affordable prices. BBR engines are custom-built to order, ensuring the correct parts for your build and application. "BBR has built Three-Valve Mustangs that have gone well into the 10.20-second quarter-mile zone and still get around 25mpg," adds Chris Jones of BBR. "We try to make it easy and affordable for the guys who drive their cars all week then race on the weekends."

Waiting for a custom-built engine can add weeks or months to the length of your project. Depending on what your undertaking consists of, wait time for your car's heart and soul may be unavoidable. Coast High Performance/Probe Industries (CHP) not only builds reliable, high-horsepower engines, but they have stocked the shelves with over 20 different combinations of pushrod and modular Ford engines ready to ship today. CHP works to alleviate build time so you get what you want, when you want it. Every engine CHP builds is precision machined and carefully assembled to ensure quality and reliability without the wait.

If you're building an engine for your street or race car, you have the benefit of options. With so many aftermarket companies manufacturing crankshafts, rods, pistons, and blocks, you have the luxury to pick and choose the parts you want to build the perfect mill for your project. Competition Products (CP) is your one-stop-shop for all of your high-performance engine needs. CP stocks parts from the biggest names in race and street performance so you can get what you need when you need it. If building your own engine isn't for you, CP offers fully machined and assembled short- and long-blocks as well as complete engines ready to be installed.

One way to make a reputable name for yourself is to build a powerful product that wins races, and D.S.S. has done just that. With an emphasis on bigger is better, D.S.S. now offers a line of big-bore stroker motors in both pushrod and mod-motor configurations. If the pushrod platform strikes your fancy, D.S.S. can accommodate with a wide array of stroker options ranging from basic rotating assemblies to complete engines. With displacement ranging from 306 to 427ci, there's an engine for every application and power goal. If you have a Two-Valve, Four-Valve, or even a Three-Valve engine, there's a stroker for you. D.S.S.' new big-bore 5.3L stroker uses the modular Boss block from FRPP to expand the power potential of the S197 Mustang. With this many choices you can't go wrong.

Dart is no stranger to the high-performance game, and it shows in the new line of SHP (Special High Performance) short-blocks. New casting technology and CNC machining, as well as countless hours of dyno development, allows Dart to offer powerful combinations that won't break the bank. The SHP line was designed to offer high levels of performance to the average budget conscious hot rodder or backyard racer. Offering superior, yet affordable options to junkyard cores, Dart has taken all of the guesswork out of building your next high-performance engine. The SHP engines come in 347 or 363ci form and can be purchased as a short-block or complete.

When quality and strength are at the forefront of your engine build, the components you fill your block with are key. At Eagle Specialty Products, extensive testing goes into the materials used to ensure the highest level of strength. With 10 years of research and product development under its belt before the first product was sold, Eagle rods and crankshafts carry an unmatched level of strength and quality. Eagle products can be found in many of the top race engines in many different classes all over the country. Eagle's selection and availability means you can readily get the parts you want.

Edelbrock310/781-2222www.edelbrock.com

Available Configurations302-Based Pushrod EnginesComplete Engines

In 2008, Edelbrock chose SEMA to unveil a new line of small-block Ford crate engines. The Edelbrock RPM 347 line is designed with the high-performance street and race enthusiast in mind. Utilizing the Dart Iron Eagle block with an 8.2-inch deck height and 4.030-inch bore, Edelbrock employs a Scat crankshaft with a stroke 3.400-inch stroke to achieve a displacement of 347ci. With your choice of Performer RPM or RPM Xtreme cylinder heads, as well as single or dual carburetors, Pro-Flo XT EFI, or any of Edelbrock's 5.0L replacement manifolds, your engine can be custom built for your needs and desired power levels.

As the list of companies producing stroker engines grows, it's very hard to separate the good from the not so good. Building custom engines is what Fox Lake has specialized in for the past 10 years. Every engine is built to order for each customer's specifications. All components are hand-selected and machined to meet the customer's needs and power requirements. "At Fox Lake, our hands are on every part that goes into one of our engines," states Ron Robart of Fox Lake. "This is the best way to ensure quality." Overhead valve or overhead cams, big-block or small-block, Fox Lake can build an engine for your muscle Mustang or fast Ford.

When it comes to Ford and Mustang performance, you can't count out the name that started it all--Ford. With a long racing heritage and a serious list of racing's elite behind them, Ford Racing Performance Parts (FRPP) is a key player in the stroker market. FRPP has taken the performance aspect past the production line, designing and building an extensive list of engines conforming to just about any price range or power goal. With the production of the Boss block, and now the modular Boss block (and the soon-to-be-released Boss 351), FRPP engines offer a high level of performance with an equally high level of reliability. With engines ranging from stock replacement to 600 hp versions, pushrod, or mod motor, we're sure FRPP will have exactly what you're looking for.

Are you looking for big performance from your 4.6L modular Ford engine? Then look no further than JDM Engineering. Team JDM has engineered a 298ci stroker short-block capable of handling 900 hp, while still giving you the reliability you demand.

Every stroker short-block or stroker rotating assembly built by Team JDM conforms to exact tolerances using components built to JDM Engineering's exact specifications. A custom JDM forged steel crank, JDM spec Manley rods and pistons fortify every short-block and stroker kit Team JDM builds, so if big power is in your 4.6L's future, Team JDM can make it happen.

Further building on its winning name, Granatelli Motor Sports (GMS) has teamed up with Ken Duttweiler of Duttweiler Performance to release a new line of modular Ford crate engines. Granatelli/Duttweiler engines will be available in Two-, Three-, and Four-Valve versions for mild streetcars to all-out race machines. All engines will be machined and assembled at Duttweiler Performance and sold through Granatelli Motor Sports. "We could not be happier," adds J.R. Granatelli. "Launching our Ford engine program under the watchful eye of Ken Duttweiler brings instant credibility and peace of mind to this program, and the end user knows he's getting a phenomenal piece with unparalleled durability." GMS will also offer TFS cylinder heads as well as Magnuson and Magna Charger superchargers as available upgrade options.

Lentech Automatics613/838-5390www.lentechautomotive.com

Available Configurations302/351-Based Pushrod EnginesComplete Engines

The competition on the street and at the track is tougher than ever. Lentech Automotive now offers a line of small-block Ford stroker engines to fit just about any project. Lentech's Signature Series SBF Engines come complete and range from 345-600 hp, with a 306, 331, and 347ci offerings for the street and a 427ci version for more track-oriented vehicles. With combinations from mild to wild, we're sure you'll find the engine that fits your power needs.

One way to ensure quality is with micro-management. By keeping a very close eye on every phase of engine production, Livernois Motorsports has a firm grip on what it takes to build durable, yet powerful, mod motors. With a full service machine shop, cylinder-head development center, along with engine and chassis dyno services in house, Livernois will be your one-stop-shop for high-performance modular engines.

Taking advantage of the big-bore trend, Livernois is now offering 5.3L stroker engines based off the Two-, Three-, and Four-Valve 4.6L modular engines. Available in iron or aluminum form with multiple compression ratios for naturally aspirated or forced-induction applications, the right mod-motor is only a phone call away.

With such emphasis placed on horsepower in today's aftermarket, the racetracks of America have become the proving ground for companies to test parts and combinations before they are offered to the public. Modular Mustang Racing (MMR) has spent countless hours at the racetrack testing the products they sell. This level of research is the foundation for every engine MMR builds, turning its success at the dragstrip into reliable horsepower for its customers. MMR is looking to raise the bar with its new Hitman series of modular short-blocks. Designed for serious race and street applications, the Hitman is capable of handling upwards of 1,500 rwhp. If you're looking for record-setting performance from your Mustang, check out Modular Mustang Racing.

Whether you're looking for a mild, yet reliable, powerplant for your street cruiser or a wild race engine to launch you down a dragstrip at break-neck speeds, Panhandle Performance can help. A wide selection of pump-gas motors, designed for serious street performance with budget in mind, are available for the backyard mechanic and average enthusiast, while big-inch high-compression race mills are designed with one thing in mind: serious power.

When it comes time to step up the performance in your car, Paschal Performance knows the right steps to take. At Paschal Performance, making big power is part of the daily routine and they house the fastest Eaton/IRS '03 Cobra to prove it. The list of offered combinations include a slew of 4.6 and 5.4L stroker configurations for Mustangs and Cobras, as well as Lightnings and GT500s. Choose one of Paschal's custom billet stroker crankshafts and a set of its custom rod and piston combinations for the perfect mill for your project.

Patriot Performance256/413-3882www.patriot-performance.com

Available Configurations302/351-Based Pushrod EnginesComplete Engines

Expanding on years of cylinder head design and the newest CNC technology, Patriot Performance now offers small-block Ford crate engines. Patriot's new 347ci crate engines employs the same quality and workmanship found in its cylinder heads. Built using a seasoned OE block, forged internals, and topped with a set of Patriot's 185cc aluminum cylinder heads, add a hydraulic-roller cam and 10.0:1 compression, serious street performance is right at your fingertips.

The recipe of high-quality parts with high-quality machining and assembly is a great combination for powerful and reliable engines. World Products, well known for its cylinder head and block castings, works hand in hand with Bill Mitchell of Hardcore Racing Products to offer an extensive selection of high horsepower engines for race and street. The Man-O-War series of engines ranges from 302 to 460ci and is available in multiple compression ratios for naturally-aspirated or forced-induction applications. No matter what your project or power goal, World Products has the engine to fit your build.

Roush, a name synonymous with Ford performance, carries a racing heritage dating back to the early '70s. After more than 30 years, Roush Performance has made its winning engineering available to the public.

Roush Performance, well known for their Ford specialty vehicles, offers a line of stroker engines for race and street applications. These Windsor-based engines feature the same machining and assembly practices that have made Roush one of the most respected names in racing. With varying configurations, horsepower levels, and sizes ranging from 327 to 588 cubic inches, we're sure you'll find exactly what you're looking for at Roush Performance.